As you know, the Western Barley Growers Association has worked long and hard on this file to free barley from the monopoly system in which we existed. We have to thank this government for moving forward on a promise and getting us into a truly commercial marketplace as of August 1.
How is it working? I can tell you that the energy in the industry right now is amazing. It doesn't matter who you talk to; finally being able to sell their grain, realize what they're getting paid for, and being able to choose when they want to sell it means they can arrange all of their marketing activities and sales activities around the needs of their farms.
It's not as we've witnessed in the past system, when we were all lumped into one and we all got paid so much when we delivered and a bit more down the road. It's much easier for a farmer to run his business when he knows what he's getting paid for that product when he delivers it into the pit. Certainly for my farm and a lot of the farmers around me, when we dump in the pit now, we know what we're getting paid.
When it comes to the handling system, I don't think in my farming career that I've seen a handling system work as efficiently as it has this year so far. I've been able to deliver my commitments to the elevator. I've signed pricing agreements, and I did that last spring. I knew when I wanted to deliver. I've been able to do that at the elevator. The elevators have been moving the grain through the system. It's not sitting at the elevator. You drive by these elevators on the way to Lethbridge and you see long lines of trains waiting to be loaded. These elevators are not taking delivery of grain until they've got a rail car sitting there to load.
The system is working very efficiently. With the railways, certainly I don't have any complaints. They seem to be moving everything efficiently. With regard to port terminals, I don't see any congestion there. The system is working well.